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Author Topic: Off-colour duck  (Read 2884 times)

LeeHambone

  • Joined Jun 2017
Off-colour duck
« on: February 03, 2020, 07:39:48 pm »
Hi everyone,

Our newly acquired ducks have perfectly settled in and we are getting plenty of eggs. However, for the past few days one has been a lot slower than the others while they are out free-ranging and she just appears to be a little morose. Are there any common duck ailments I need to know about? I had thought she could have a compacted crop but I picked her up today and it wasn't. She also took some catching so she definitely isn't at death's door. Any opinions would be welcome.

Thanks

doganjo

  • Joined Aug 2012
  • Clackmannanshire
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Re: Off-colour duck
« Reply #1 on: February 03, 2020, 09:09:51 pm »
Is she being bullied, or is one of your drakes harassing her.  What ratio do you have?  Some breeds of drake are more insistent than others.  I had one duck nearly drowned by an over zealous drake. And he killed his two daughters by flattening them.  He then got flattened!

Khaki Campbells need a high ratio of females to males, my Shetlands weren't too bad in equal numbers, but there's quite a variation.

Also have they been wormed lately?

And if you got them recently is their food the same brand as they were on before - they do differ.
Hope that helps?
« Last Edit: February 03, 2020, 09:11:59 pm by doganjo »
Always have been, always will be, a WYSIWYG - black is black, white is white - no grey in my life! But I'm mellowing in my old age

LeeHambone

  • Joined Jun 2017
Re: Off-colour duck
« Reply #2 on: February 04, 2020, 10:25:51 pm »
Is she being bullied, or is one of your drakes harassing her.  What ratio do you have?  Some breeds of drake are more insistent than others.  I had one duck nearly drowned by an over zealous drake. And he killed his two daughters by flattening them.  He then got flattened!

Khaki Campbells need a high ratio of females to males, my Shetlands weren't too bad in equal numbers, but there's quite a variation.

Also have they been wormed lately?

And if you got them recently is their food the same brand as they were on before - they do differ.

Hope that helps?

Thanks for that. We don't know what food they were on before as they were abandoned, so the neighbour just had them on mixed corn. We've got them on mixed corn and waterfowl pellets.

There are 6 in total, 2 khaki Campbell's, 3 white Campbell's and a call duck. So far they all seem to be ducks, no drakes, BUT we do have them in with 3 Toulouse geese, and when they want the pool they can be a little rough, but rather than get out of the way the Campbell's flatten out as though they want to mate with them. Maybe this one has taken a bit of a beating?

It only happens when they are in the pen, when they are free ranging they never bother each other. This one is just lagging behind at the moment.

Briggsy from Gower

  • Joined Nov 2018
Re: Off-colour duck
« Reply #3 on: February 05, 2020, 10:01:18 am »
Hi,

Which breed is the slow one?

A couple of suggestions -

Check to see if she is looking bloated compared to the rest, if you catch her again have a feel of her tummy. Campbells are susceptible to peritonitis, a consequence of laying so many eggs. Egg yolks can miss the tube and gather in the belly causing infection.

Is she moulting? Our girls get very tired when they moult, especially if they have not had the good sense to stop laying for the process.

I give them chopped up garlic in their food as a natural antibiotic so I would do that as a matter of course, pop some cider vinegar in their water and keep an eye on her. If she is moulting you can get some conditioning powder for their feed.

Also - if you have not done so already you may want to try the Poultry Keepers Forum, there's a few people on their who have a lot of experience with ducks.

Hope she's better soon.

LeeHambone

  • Joined Jun 2017
Re: Off-colour duck
« Reply #4 on: February 05, 2020, 07:41:55 pm »
Hi,

Which breed is the slow one?

A couple of suggestions -

Check to see if she is looking bloated compared to the rest, if you catch her again have a feel of her tummy. Campbells are susceptible to peritonitis, a consequence of laying so many eggs. Egg yolks can miss the tube and gather in the belly causing infection.

Is she moulting? Our girls get very tired when they moult, especially if they have not had the good sense to stop laying for the process.

I give them chopped up garlic in their food as a natural antibiotic so I would do that as a matter of course, pop some cider vinegar in their water and keep an eye on her. If she is moulting you can get some conditioning powder for their feed.

Also - if you have not done so already you may want to try the Poultry Keepers Forum, there's a few people on their who have a lot of experience with ducks.

Hope she's better soon.

Hi, thanks for that. She's a khaki Campbell. They aren't moulting at the minute. I picked her up thinking she looked like she had an impacted crop but no, if anything it was empty. Never thought to feel her belly. I'll do that.

Watching today I think she's fallen foul of a goose, she's avoiding them and waiting to eat until the end. Cider vinegar is a good tip, thanks, I already use it on my pigeons.

I'll check out the poultry forum   :thumbsup:

doganjo

  • Joined Aug 2012
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Re: Off-colour duck
« Reply #5 on: February 05, 2020, 10:36:04 pm »
I did wonder if it was bullying, but hadn't thought of the geese.  Could you feed her separately for a while, to bulk her up, maybe with one of the others for company?  I'd worry that her health might suffer very quickly if she's not getting enough food.
Always have been, always will be, a WYSIWYG - black is black, white is white - no grey in my life! But I'm mellowing in my old age

Penninehillbilly

  • Joined Sep 2011
  • West Yorks
Re: Off-colour duck
« Reply #6 on: February 05, 2020, 11:48:32 pm »
Beware of geese and ducks, mine killed one of my call ducks, and esp going into breeding season, they get a bit stroppy with everything.

Briggsy from Gower

  • Joined Nov 2018
Re: Off-colour duck
« Reply #7 on: February 06, 2020, 10:03:26 am »
Khaki Campbells are a very nervous breed. If she's feeling ill she is going to want to avoid the geese whether they are bullying or not.
If you do decide to separate her for feeding, put the other Khaki with her, they get very stressed if they have to be alone.
From my experience it is the Khaki's that suffer most from reproductive problems, poor little things. It was only after we started keeping ducks that it occurred to me that laying an egg nearly everyday of the year would take it's toll!

LeeHambone

  • Joined Jun 2017
Re: Off-colour duck
« Reply #8 on: February 26, 2020, 06:55:56 pm »
Thanks for all the replies everyone!

Update: poorly duck is back up to speed, made a full recovery and started laying again yesterday. I am actually still non the wiser as to what was wrong with her but I guess she had a fall out with the gander. Harmony has however been restored. In a few weeks the flock of ducks will be separated entirely from the geese so will no longer share their quarters or free range area.

Thanks again

Briggsy from Gower

  • Joined Nov 2018
Re: Off-colour duck
« Reply #9 on: February 29, 2020, 05:36:00 pm »
Thanks Lee, always good to hear of a happy ending.

Just put our girls to bed, fresh food, fresh water, bit of lettuce as a treat and they're still complaining! As for eggs, I think they've forgotten that is what they are meant to do.

LeeHambone

  • Joined Jun 2017
Re: Off-colour duck
« Reply #10 on: March 01, 2020, 10:21:52 pm »
Thanks Lee, always good to hear of a happy ending.

Just put our girls to bed, fresh food, fresh water, bit of lettuce as a treat and they're still complaining! As for eggs, I think they've forgotten that is what they are meant to do.

Thanks Briggsy, we have been really with the ducks, we got them a few months back and they've laid consistently ever since. We have to give the eggs away!

doganjo

  • Joined Aug 2012
  • Clackmannanshire
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Re: Off-colour duck
« Reply #11 on: March 02, 2020, 05:22:48 pm »
I'd love ducks again, but one of my last lot cackeld loudly like the Wicked Witch of the West, and i doubt my new neighbours would be happy with that.  :innocent:
Always have been, always will be, a WYSIWYG - black is black, white is white - no grey in my life! But I'm mellowing in my old age

Briggsy from Gower

  • Joined Nov 2018
Re: Off-colour duck
« Reply #12 on: March 02, 2020, 05:46:07 pm »
Lee, here's some tips if you have the time to cook.....

Home made mayo, home made pasta (once you make it you wont want to go back to dried pasta), carbonara, Spanish tortilla. Oooh, now I can't wait for them to start laying again!

Penninehillbilly

  • Joined Sep 2011
  • West Yorks
Re: Off-colour duck
« Reply #13 on: March 03, 2020, 12:34:36 pm »
I'd love ducks again, but one of my last lot cackeld loudly like the Wicked Witch of the West, and i doubt my new neighbours would be happy with that.  :innocent:
I loved my call ducks, used to call them laughing ducks, sadly couldn't cope with losing them to stoats and then fox, no more for me. ?

 

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